Brick Facade Falls In Downtown Sioux Falls

A decades-old brick façade suddenly gave way Tuesday night sending bricks showering down to the sidewalk below.

A tarp covers a 250-square-foot section of the historic Larson Square building where bricks began falling around 10 p.m.

Dustin Mohr manages A Taste of The Big Apple - a restaurant inside the building.

"My first thought was how am I going to tell the people inside that the building is falling apart and we've got to leave," Mohr said.

The bricks were crumbling down onto the sidewalk, narrowly missing a car parked on Main Avenue.

"The bricks were right next to it. They were warm. Yeah, it was a weird sight," Mohr said.

They called 911 and firefighters arrived to peel loose bricks from the wall. Authorities believe rotting wood behind the bricks may have caused the damage.

Lloyd Companies Vice President of Property Management says the owners are doing everything they can to remedy the problem.

"I don't think that there is more of a risk with historical buildings. But I will say that when matters like this happen, obviously it matters what you do right after. We've taken the appropriate action to make sure our residents and our tenants, that's our number one safety concern and making sure they're safe and that's what we're doing right now," Loge said.

Sioux Falls Fire Rescue says the structural integrity of the building is fine and everyone is able to remain in the building that houses lofts and Mohr's restaurant.